Friday, March 4, 2011

CAPE GIRARDEAU, MO (KRCU) - Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Missouri will close down their Cape Girardeau branch by May 2011.

150 of their 175 employees will keep their jobs and work from home. Technology has advanced enough that workers can do everything from home via instant messaging, email, and phone conferences, according to Deborah Wietrop, the spokesperson for Anthem.

"Our surveys have shown that our work at home associates are more productive, they have greater quality of life, they don't have the commute costs. They're generally just more satisfied and productive so we believe that the majority of them are going to enjoy this arrangement," Wietrop said.

Most employee will retain their jobs. The company will have reduced expenses in administrative areas, and members will not have to pay extra costs related to real estate and other expenses, Wietrop said.

Anthem has not yet released out how much this process will save them in terms of dollars.